The present invention relates to an improved computer system, method, and program product, and more specifically to an improved mechanism for executing a process in a cloud computing environment.
Recently, much attention has been given to cloud computing, which delivers various services and/or computer platforms by using combinations of hardware resources such as CPU, memory, storage and software resources, such as applications, in response to a user's request over a network. Generally, in cloud computing environments, pay-per-use models, which bill each user according to quantity of resources consumed, are used.
In cloud computing, as in conventional server-client computer systems, the amount of requested services may change with time of day and season. In such a case, if an attempt is made to satisfy all the requests within a cloud provided by a single computer system, the resources may be scarce during peak hours (with large amounts of services being requested) but may be abundant during off peak hours (with small amounts of services being requested). The shortage of resources during peak hours deteriorates the service quality and the excessive amount of resources during off peak hours introduces waste with regard to the cost of support.